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July 12, 2005 | Kansas City Star

River Market builder steps up pace
Second phase of condo project to begin this fall
By Kevin Collison

The River Market’s popularity as a recognized downtown neighborhood is encouraging the builders of Bridgeworks Lofts to accelerate the timetable of their $66 million development.

Developer George Birt said 10 condos remain unsold in the 47-unit first phase of the residential project being built along Locust Street between Missouri Avenue and Fifth Street. The entire project, part of a larger River Market East redevelopment plan, is expected to transform a three-block area of light-industrial buildings, mostly vacant, into a neighborhood with almost 250 residences.

Encouraged by the quick sales of the $12 million first phase, Birt said construction of a 62-unit condo building immediately to the west is scheduled to begin this fall. The remainder of the development, which includes the renovation of the historic Muehlebach building into offices, is expected to be under way by next year.

“We feel the River Market is the most established and developed urban neighborhood in the city at this point,” Birt said. “It’s had a long history.”

Birt was one of the first downtown developers to build new when he opened the 32-unit Conover Place condominium development in the River Market three years ago. Until then, most downtown residential projects were conversions of historic buildings, many of them originally built for commercial uses.

He and his partners, Taylor McGee and Jim Potter, say new construction allows them to provide amenities to condo buyers, particularly more windows as well as terraces and balconies, not always possible with rehabs. The Bridgework units range in size from 850 square feet to over 2,500 square feet, and sell from $150,000 to $750,000.

“We are one of the only people providing new construction, all the rest is rehab,” McGee said. “We have the advantage of building for a market that is waiting for this product.”

Potter is involved in a separate, 13-unit condo project being built in the River Market not far from Bridgeworks at Fifth and Delaware streets. The Five Delaware project, which is near completion, allows residents to purchase “warm shells” and design their own interiors. Nine units have been sold, and the prices range from $325,000 to $450,000.

Another major construction project is expected on an eight-acre site owned by Kansas City Southern in the northwest corner of the River Market. The former rail yard is expected to be redeveloped as a mixed-use project with an emphasis on residential. Prospective developers are being interviewed.

The second, $17 million condo building going up at Bridgeworks will face the east side of Oak Street between Missouri and Fifth. The street had been closed when the property was being used as a surface parking lot for taxicabs and vans operated by Metropolitan Transportation Services Inc. Plans call for the street to be reopened to traffic.

Eight of the condos will have street-level entry. The remainder, on the upper floors of the four- to five-story building, will be served by elevators. A two-level parking garage will be located below the residential floors and each condo will have one space per bedroom, the developers said.

The $20 million third phase of Bridgeworks is located on the block between Missouri and Independence Avenue, from Grand Boulevard to Oak. The plan requires the demolition of several vacant buildings formerly used by the Pisciotta family grocery business. The two-story Muehlebach building at Independence and Oak will be preserved.

The 12,000-square-foot building is the last standing structure of the brewery that once occupied the site, Birt said. Plans call for it to be converted into offices for a local architectural firm at a cost of about $2.5 million.

The remainder of the block calls for a 39-unit, four- to five-story condo building with a lobby off Grand to be built in the center surrounded by 36 “live-work” lofts with street-level access. Construction is scheduled to begin in early spring. It will include a garage with a space reserved for each bedroom.

The two-level lofts along the street will have work space on the lower floor and residential space above, reminiscent of the days when people often lived above their shops. The live-work lofts will have separate entrances for the office and residential sections, and can be bought together or separately.

Birt said the design would make the units ideal for self-employed professionals such as designers and accountants.

“We’ve been getting calls from people who want smaller office space,” he said.

The fourth, $17 million phase of the project, another 62-unit condo building, will be built on the west side of Oak between Fifth and Missouri. Construction is expected to start next summer.

The condo association fee is expected to be about 22 cents per square foot. All Bridgeworks residents will have access to a swimming pool, fitness rooms and a community clubhouse. Reece & Nichols is the sales agent.

The development is being subsidized through the Chapter 353 tax abatement program. Homeowners will receive a 100 percent property tax abatement on the improved value of their property for the first 10 years, and 50 percent for the following 15 years.

The project architects are Shears-Adkins Architects of Denver and Jantsch + Slaggie Architects of Kansas City.